R O B O T I C S FACTORY OF THE FUTURE FROM VISION TO REALITY The Factory of the Future is a research and technology initiative aimed to push emerging technologies to improve the competitiveness of manufacturing processes by leveraging cyber-physical systems and big data analytics to enable a smarter, operator-centric production. One of the key components for improving efficiency in the Factory of the Future is a smarter tool such as a drill or a tightening tool. These smart devices are designed to communicate with a main infrastructure or locally with operators and other tools. In the latter circumstance, the devices are required to provide situational awareness and make real-time decisions based on local and distributed intelligence in the network. In the case of a manufacturing facility, smart 14 August 2016 tools can help simplify the production process and improve efficiency by removing physical data logs and manuals. Operators must focus on their operational tasks, during which they need to keep their hands free for using the appropriate tools. For example, developing an airplane involves tens of thousands of steps that operators must follow with many checks in place to ensure quality. When manufacturers add intelligence to their systems, the smart tools understand the actions that the operator must perform next, automatically adjusting to the proper settings, and simplifying the task for the operator. Once the action has completed, the smart tools can also monitor and log the results of the action, which improves the efficiency of the production process. Consider the example of an airplane subassembly that has roughly 400,000 points that need to be tightened down, which requires over 1,100 basic tightening tools in the current production process. The operator has to closely follow a list of steps Sitting on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution driven by the convergence of technologies and societal trends, a new catalyst has emerged where things of all shapes and functions are central to the Internet of Things or IoT. The connectedness of the IoT and the distributed nature of these intelligent devices, each with autonomous or semiautonomous behaviour, allow significantly higher production and better use of human resources by eliminating massive information gaps about real-time factory condition; coupled with innovative techniques such as additive manufacturing, the IoT will soon realise a truly optimised advanced manufacturing floor and the vision of a lean, agile, and integrated ‘Factory of the future’. We have local knowledge and global experience NHP ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING PRODUCTS PTY LTD 0800 NHP NHP | nhp-nz.com global local technology people 50 X 210 FORMAT.indd 1 19/07/2016 2:10 PM
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